The Woodcrafters
by Fulton of the Sith
Summary: After losing his friends, a player stumbles upon a strange game mechanic. Could this be the key to freedom?
1. Prologue

Concept was inspired by Kur0kishi's Naruto/SAO crossover "The Hunter" (Story ID 8555103)  
OC-centric.

I do not own Sword Art Online. I do however, own copies of all of the Light Novels.

* * *

_He was tired of this death game._  
A small figure stood at the edge of Aincrad.  
_It would be so easy to end it all._  
They climbed the small ledge surrounding the floor.  
_His friends would be waiting for him._  
The figure paused, then climbed back down and started walking away from the edge.  
_If only he wasn't scared to die._

Yorutsuki headed back to his room in the inn, his head hanging low.  
'Why did they have to die?'  
He threw his sword across the room, where it bounced off the table, causing the object's Life to decrease by a few points. He blinked.  
'Let's see...' He picked up the sword, then activated the Sword Skill Linear. Again, the sword bounced off, removing a few points of life from the table.  
He grinned. That table had been crafted by one of his old party members a few days ago. They had complained constantly about how difficult it was to get the table perfectly circular. Woodcrafting had no System Assistance like Blacksmithing, but it allowed you to make any shape you wished.  
Most items, including armour, allowed blades to pass through them upon contact, dealing damage as the blade passed through. Furniture items, however... He had to test this outside of a safe zone. Placing the table into his inventory, he headed out towards the first floor. No sense in taking risks, after all.

* * *

The boar charged, only to slam into a table held by Yorutsuki. The Life of the table decreased by a miniscule amount. 'Alright, that's enough testing.' With a flash, the table disappeared into his inventory. His sword buried itself into the boar's hide, which then exploded into blue fragments.  
Yorutsuki headed back into the City of Beginning. He would need some time to get his skill high enough to pull this off. The front lines could do without him for a while.

* * *

A group of spiders approached a paralyzed player. 'Damn it! I don't want to die!' The player, a young boy, turned his head to face the spiders. It was all he could do.  
The spiders lunged. He closed his eyes.  
**-THUD-**

'Huh?' A man stood between him and the closest spider, its fangs appeared to be embedded in his arm. 'Get out of here! their venom causes paralysis a minute after being bitten!'  
The man was wearing a cloak, his form hidden. 'What's your name kid?'  
The boy was confused. Shouldn't the man be more worried about the spiders? 'Uh, it's Kazeken.'  
The man smirked. 'You just sit right there Kazeken. Paralysis isn't a problem because, they can't bite me!' he swung his arm, the arm of the cloak tore off, attached to the spider's mouth. His arm appeared to be covered with wooden armour.  
_Strange, I didn't think that wooden armour existed._ Kazeken's eyes opened wide, he had just realised something. 'Hey wait! you have no HP bar! That spider clearly hit you, your HP bar should be showing!'  
A Horizontal to the face, followed by a Linear to the underbelly as it reared up in pain. 'I'll tell you.' A Vertical to the spider beside him. 'When these things.' A punch to the face with his free hand, followed by another Horizontal. 'Are dead!' With a final slash not guided by any Sword Skill, the first spider fell.

* * *

A few minutes later, the cloaked man sheathed his blade, then pulled a potion out of his inventory. 'Drink up Kazeken, I have a proposition for you.' He poured the potion into Kazeken's mouth.  
Instantly, the paralysis effect was removed and his HP started to recover. Kazeken sat up. 'Thanks, what was your name again?'  
'I didn't say. But for future reference, the name's Yorutsuki.' He grinned and offered his hand.  
Kazeken took his hand, and was pulled to his feet. 'What was that? Why didn't you take any damage?'  
'It's a little something I've been working on for the last six months. It also has something to do with the proposition I mentioned.' He pulled a small log and a wood carving knife out of his inventory. 'I'd like you to join the guild I'm forming. We're going to become the invincible clearing guild known as... The Woodcrafters.'

* * *

Average chapter length will be longer than this, this is just a short prologue.  
The names Yorutsuki and Kazeken were random. I started thinking of names I've seen in some MMOs, and just decided to put "Night Moon" and "Wind Sword"

Does anyone else think Aincrad is supposed to resemble the English word "Ironclad"?

And before I get any comments regarding spelling, I'm from the other side of the pond. I use "ou" instead of "o" in some words, and "ise" instead of "ize" in others.

Chapters will be edited frequently, though no large changes will be made.  
I like to tweak my stories after I've written them, adding or removing details, rewording sections, etc.


	2. Cabin in the woods

Concept was inspired by Kur0kishi's Naruto/SAO crossover "The Hunter" (Story ID 8555103)  
OC-centric.

I do not own Sword Art Online. I do however, own a small 15cm version of Kirito's sword.

* * *

Two figures stood outside an Inn, icons hovering next to them indicating their status as Guild members.  
'So, how does this work again?' Kazeken leant against the wall holding a small block of wood.  
'Like I said, Anything made using the Woodcrafting Skill is considered a Furniture-Type Object. Attacks cannot pass through Furniture-Type Objects, and so your body and your HP are protected.' Yorutsuki pulled out a loaf of bread and bit into it. 'I've been through all of the floors unlocked so far, and it works against all but Breath Attacks, but a normal Shield helps defend against those.' He sighed. 'Unfortunately, it takes a Woodcrafting Skill of over 750 to use materials strong enough to stand against attacks from front line monsters, which is why it took me six months to get this far. 5 months of that was spent testing out the types of wood against different attacks though, so you should be good to go in about a month. Start practicing, I have business with a certain little mouse.'

* * *

A hooded figure sat in the corner, whisker marks visible on their cheeks. 'Hello Yoru. Any word on that little project of yours?'  
'Hey Argo. It went better than I could have ever imagined. Let's talk somewhere more private.' He turned and walked upstairs.

* * *

'Well, we're here. What's up with the privacy?' Argo sat down and removed her hood.  
'I don't want this to be in any of the public logs. This is game-breaking.' Yorutsuki was ecstatic. 'If Kayaba were to catch wind of this, it would be patched instantly.'  
'That good, huh?' Argo grinned. 'Great, information that I can't sell...'  
'Don't worry yourself about it mouse.' He winked. 'I'm putting together a clearing guild. Would you like to be a part of it?'  
'Yoru-kun! Don't call me that!' She pouted. 'And I would prefer rat to mouse, it sounds sneakier. Better for an information broker.' She shrugged. 'Besides, my place is here, helping people stay alive with information.'  
Yorutsuki grinned. 'Sorry, mice are cuter than rats.' His face suddenly became serious. 'This is a major chance Argo-chan. I'm sorry, but you can't tell anyone this. Like I said, if Kayaba found out...'  
A smirk sat on Argo's face. 'Don't worry yourself about it Yoru-kun. I know how important this is. I'll keep it under wraps.'  
'Here.' Yorutsuki handed Argo a full bag of Col. 'This should cover what you would have made by selling the information.'  
Argo pouted again. 'It's always business with you Yoru-kun.' She hefted the bag experimentally, and her eyes widened. 'How did you get this much money?'  
'It seems that woodcrafters are quite rare. As such, handcrafted furniture is expensive.' Yorutsuki shrugged 'That's nowhere near the full amount I made in these last six months. I've got enough to buy a small building for a guild house.'  
'You're becoming quite the businessman Yoru-kun.' Argo turned to leave 'Make sure you stay safe.'  
With that, Yorutsuki was alone again.

* * *

Yorutsuki headed to the property store on the 22nd floor. The thickly forested floor would be perfect for training a guild of woodcrafters.  
'I'm sorry, the last spare house was purchased by a nice couple. We have some empty land though, if you're willing to build your own house.' The NPC shopkeeper, an old woman, shook her head. 'You would need to be very good at woodcrafts to do so though.' an icon appeared above the NPC's head. A quest?

'I'm sure my woodcrafting skills are high enough, I'll take the land.' A window appeared in front of Yorutsuki. "Quest cannot be accepted. Gain mastery of the Woodcrafting skill to continue." He sighed. 'I guess that means more furniture making for me. At least my skill is only 50 points away from mastery. Thank you, Ma'am'

* * *

Two days later, Yorutsuki re-entered the store. 'I'm back! I'd like to buy that land now Ma'am.'  
"Col removed: 1,500,000. Item obtained: Land Deed. Quest accepted: Cabin in the woods. Current objective: Obtain Sturdy Log."  
'Huh? Sturdy Log? I've never seen this item.' He turned back towards the NPC. 'Excuse me Ma'am, but where can I find Sturdy Logs?'  
The old woman chuckled. 'Why, the trees in the forest are made from them. Just cut down a tree and you'll get some.'  
"Quest updated: Cabin in the woods. Current objective: Kill Treant to obtain Sturdy Log x1.  
'Treant? Wow, a unique quest monster!' Yorutsuki grinned and pulled up a menu. He pulled the wooden armour from his inventory and put it on. 'I can't wait!' He turned and left the shop.

* * *

'Man, the old lady never said where to find this Treant...' Yorutsuki sat down and leaned against a nearby tree. 'This is gonna be more difficult than I thought.'  
A low rumbling sound reverberated around the area. 'What was that?' Instantly, he was on his feet, using his Searching skills at their maximum capacity.  
Suddenly, he was flying through the air, his blade clattering away along the floor. 'You would dare to lean against me?' Another low rumble, though this time it was recognisable as a voice. 'Such insolence! I will make you into fertiliser!'  
Yorutsuki got up to see a giant tree-like being lumbering towards him, its club-like arms raised towards him. 'THAT'S the Treant?' He stumbled backwards, and reached for his sword, to find that it wasn't there. 'Shit! That one blow took away a fifth of my chestplate's durability! This is a boss-level monster!' He looked around, and saw the sword. Unfortunately, there was a large tree bearing down on him from the direction it was in. He did the logical thing, and ran in the opposite direction.

Yorutsuki sat in a clearing catching his breath. 'That tree, it will be hard to bring down. I'll need some help.'

* * *

'Hey Yorutsuki!' A man in samurai-styled armour walked across the town square. 'I haven't seen you on the front lines for about half a year, then you suddenly send a message. What's going on?'  
'I've found something big Klein, come with me.' Yorutsuki turned and entered the Inn.

* * *

'So you're saying you've found a cheat?'  
'Pretty much, yeah.'  
'And you need my help to take down a tree boss so that you can start up a guild of cheaters?'  
'That's right.'  
'After which you will train said guild of cheaters to be able to beat the game?'  
'Yeah, that's pretty much the idea.'

'Count me in! it's about time our luck changed like this!'

* * *

Another short chapter. I lost my job the day after I posted the first chapter, so I've been applying for a new one.  
On top of that, the filter on my bike's fuel line is fucked and is leaking petrol all over the engine. It'll cost me quite a bit to get it fixed.  
I've not had the time to write anything longer.  
I needed some thing to cheer me up after all the shit that's happened, so I wrote some small interaction between Argo and Yorutsuki.

[EDIT] Just a quick edit regarding some small details which I missed earlier.


End file.
